Postdoc in Taking Responsibility for Learning
Be part of pioneering research on how students take responsibility and agency for their learning – and study how this can transform engineering education at TU Delft and beyond.
Job description
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher within the Innovation for Delft Engineering Education (IDEE) initiative, on the theme Students taking responsibility for their own learning process.
This position offers a unique opportunity to combine educational research and innovation. Over the past years, our research team has developed a shared conceptual and empirical foundation describing what it means for students to take responsibility for learning, and how this is understood by both students and teachers, including an exploration of learning-related behaviors and attitudes across diverse educational contexts.
Building on this foundation, the next phase will focus on studying the impact and practical enactment of these insights. The aim is to move from understanding what responsibility in learning is, toward examining how it can be effectively fostered, practiced, and sustained in higher education.
In this position, you will design and conduct research-informed educational studies that investigate how students and teachers put responsibility for learning into practice, what enables or constrains it, and how educational interventions can support it. You will collaborate closely with educators, researchers, and policy stakeholders to ensure that your work contributes to sustainable, evidence-based educational change at TU Delft and across the 4TU network.
You will be hosted by the Electrical Engineering Education Group at the Faculty of EEMCS. However, the project is part of a TU Delft IDEE initiative, and you will work in close collaboration with colleagues from the Teaching Academy and others across the campus.
Responsibilities:
- Design and conduct empirical research on how responsibility for learning is practiced and supported in higher education.
- Develop and evaluate educational interventions that promote student responsibility and agency.
- Investigate the effectiveness, adoption, and long-term impact of these interventions in diverse learning environments.
- Contribute to the creation of frameworks, tools, and resources that help embed responsibility in curricula and professional development.
- Collaborate with educators and institutional partners to align research outcomes with curriculum and policy developments.
- Disseminate results through peer-reviewed publications, workshops, and conferences in the field of engineering education and learning sciences.
Anticipated research contributions:
By the end of the two-year appointment, you will have:
- Conducted and published empirical studies examining how students and teachers enact and experience responsibility for learning.
- Developed and evaluated research-informed practices or interventions that support responsibility in engineering education.
- Contributed to a validated framework or set of indicators for studying and assessing responsibility in learning.
- Provided evidence-based insights for embedding responsibility and agency within curricula and teacher development initiatives.
- Shared findings widely within TU Delft and the international higher education community.
Job requirements
You have:
- A PhD in education sciences, learning sciences, engineering education, or a closely related discipline.
- Proven expertise or strong interest in educational research design (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods).
- Experience or strong interest in educational design, curriculum innovation, or teacher professional development.
- Strong analytical and communication skills, with the ability to synthesize and communicate research insights for diverse audiences.
- A collaborative mindset and an interest in contributing to educational change in engineering contexts.
Assets:
- Experience with design-based research or educational evaluation.
- Understanding of engineering education or institutional change processes.
- A record of publishing in international education or engineering education venues.
- Good command of English (Dutch is an advantage).
TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.
At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.
Challenge. Change. Impact!
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. Technology such as the electricity grid, which our faculty is helping to make completely sustainable and future-proof. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. Meanwhile we are pushing the limits of applied mathematics, for example mapping out disease processes using single cell data, and using mathematics to simulate gigantic ash plumes after a volcanic eruption. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position. In total, more than 1000 employees and 4,000 students work and study in this innovative environment.
Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science.
Conditions of employment
- Duration of contract is 2 years Temporary
- A job of 32-40 hours per week.
- Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.
- An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
- The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
- Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
- Flexible working week.
- Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
- Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
- Partially paid parental leave
- Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.
Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands. .
Additional information
If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Dr. Bahareh Abdikivanani, via b.abdikivanani@tudelft.nl
The interviews are scheduled for February and March. Applicants from abroad may join online.
Application procedure
Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 25 January 2026 via the application button and upload the following documents:
- A motivation letter (max. 2 pages).
- A CV including education, employment history, and publications.
- A research statement (max. 2 pages) describing your ideas for advancing the theme of student responsibility in learning.
You can address your application to Dr. Bahareh Abdikivanani.
Please note:
- You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
- As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel. We do this, among other things, to prevent the unwanted transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology. The assessment is based on information provided by the candidates themselves, such as their motivation letter and CV, and takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed. The processing of personal data in the context of the risk assessment is carried out on the legal basis of the GDPR: performing a public task in the public interest. You can find more information about this assessment on our website about knowledge security.
- Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.